


Steps

by queenruto



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: College AU, F/M, I don't know why I'm writing this, but this ship is cute so w/e
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-26
Updated: 2015-08-11
Packaged: 2018-04-11 06:19:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4424690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenruto/pseuds/queenruto
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frederick is ready for college, but is he ready for the challenges that follow it?</p><p>[Modern AU. It may sound like a really weird story, but I promise it's worth reading!]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One of Two

Frederick's eyes darted from right to left and left again, hands folded carefully in an effort to disguise how much they were shaking. It was difficult for him to keep a straight face when a hand suddenly went to his shoulder, pulling his mind back into reality. 

"Fred? You okay?"

The young man's chocolate brown eyes blinked twice before turning to his right. "Yes, Chrom, I'm alright. Just... a little wary, that's all. And don't call me Fred, you're making it sound like I'm nine."

Chrom gave a small smile in response, and swept some of his deep blue hair out of his face before leaning back in the chair he sat in. "Definitely not nine. Anyway, don't sweat it, Frederick. If anyone is going to be able to ace this interview, it's you." 

"You give encouraging words for someone who's only seventeen," Frederick acknowledged. He let himself relax and scanned the welcome center of Greystone University once again. "I don't see anyone we know yet. Isn't Vaike supposed to be here as well?"

Chrom scoffed. "Technically not. Vaike doesn't have a chance of going here, you're the only one I know of getting an interview for such a prestigious place. I'm only here for moral support and a chance to get a girl." Something in the teenager's tone hinted more at the latter. The screen by the main desk flashed a certain name across the screen. "Oh! Fred, that's you. Better get going." 

"Y-Yes..." Frederick promptly stopped tapping his feet and slowly made his way to the cluster of rooms at the end of the hall. A stern, red-haired woman sitting at the desk beside a pile of studious books raised her eyes above her glasses to glance at the man in front of her. "Do you happen to be Frederick?"

"Yes, ma'm. I was informed that my interview for admittance into this university would be in this area?"

Perhaps taken aback by his well-articulated speech, the woman straightened her glasses and motioned her hand towards a single door by a few bookcases. "Right through that door there." As he followed her directions, she cleared her throat. "I'd imagine you'd like to know this: there is one more person being interviewed with you. According to your applications, the two of you attended the same high school, which is why you are with them."

A single nod was all Frederick gave in response, but his head was spinning with questions as he made his way to the door.  _Another student from my school? I had been under the impression I was the only one who had made it to this point of the admissions process, but..._ There was no time left. Running a hand through his dark brown hair one last time, Frederick knocked on the mahogany door and opened it. 


	2. For the Love of Food

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How does the interview go?

The office as well-lit, but by no means well organized. Frederick's eyes wandered over the books and papers meticulously placed around the small area and decided that its owner was either trying to achieve a world record of the smallest amount of floor space visible in a single room, or they were trying to get him buried under a stack of books before he even got a chance to be accepted into the university.

Through the various encyclopedias and documents, a desk sat to the side of the wall. On one side, two sturdy, wooden chairs were placed next to each other. Across from them was a middle-aged bespectacled man who seemed to be so intensely studying the contents of a book that he did not notice anyone had entered.

Frederick made his away around stray pieces of paper and promptly took a seat across the teal-haired individual and cleared his throat. "Excuse me, but does this happen to be the place in which I am interview for admittance into this university?"  


"Yes..." A quiet answer came from across from Frederick. "Although there should be one more, other than the two of us. I'm afraid we will have to wait." 

No sooner had Frederick agreed, the door was swept open, and footsteps could be heard against the hardwood floor at a rather impressive speed, considering the obstacles in the room. Out from behind the leaning tower of agricultural volumes emerged a lean, fair-skinned young man who looked slightly like Frederick himself. His hair, while slightly lighter than Frederick's own, was equally as unruly and he also happened to be in possession of quite the quantity of food. 

Mr. Teal-hair readjusted his glasses and finally looked up from what he was reading. "Ah, so you are Stahl?"

The newest addition to the already cramped office brushed some crumbs off of his green sweatshirt and nodded quickly. "Yes, sir! I apologize for being late. This poor duckling had gotten separated from its mother across the sidewalk and I couldn't just leave it there. Also there was a sale on sour gummy worms and those are so good–"

Frederick stared at Stahl in complete confusion. He knew the name, but he had never seen its owner before.  _How did he, of all people, get into Greystone?_ Sure, Stahl wasn't a bad student. He was consistently known for his, well, averageness. He was literally one of the most normal people you would ever meet. Everything about him was average: his academics, his sports, even the way he talked wasn't over the top or anything. He was just... there. 

Before he could finish his train of thought, Frederick saw the man in front of him stand up, and he followed suit. After shaking both of their hands, he introduced himself as Yukimura, one of the admittance directors at the university.

"This will certainly not be a long or tedious interview, so feel free to ask me any questions throughout. Now, remember that you both have already been admitted into the university, this is just a protocol that ensures that this school is the right fit for you..."

\--

The interview was over before Frederick realized, and suddenly he found himself bidding goodbye to Yukimura and finally leaving the building. He and Stahl walked through the hallways of the universities in silence until Frederick spoke up. 

"So... Greystone, huh?"  


Stahl smiled bashfully. "Yeah. Honestly, I never thought I'd get into a place like this. I knew you would, but me... I'm not even remotely close to where you are."

"Major?"

"Food sciences." _Makes sense_ , thought Frederick.  _Not a bad major at all, though_. "I'm going into pyrotechnics."

"Nice!" To Frederick's surprise, Stahl seemed genuinely interested in what he had to say. That was something he had heard about him during high school. Stahl was always someone you could count on to understand you.

They continued their conversation about their high school experience and the occasional mention of food (courtesy of Stahl) when they came back to the welcome center. 

A young woman, no more than their age, approached Stahl with anticipated eyes. She wore a dark jacket with purple stripes on the side, and had her hair tied halfway so that it lay only partly on her shoulders."So? How did it go?"

Stahl grinned. "Amazing, all thanks to you." He walked a step forward to meet her embrace and placed a quick kiss on her deep brown hair. A hint of red on his face, he turned back to Frederick. "Ah, this is my girlfriend, Robin. Robin, Frederick. We went to the same high school."

Robin held her hand out and smiled. "A pleasure, Frederick." Then she turned back to her boyfriend. "Hey, there's a place down the way with really good fig cakes. We should try it!" 

"Anything for you. Plus, fig cakes are pretty good, so..." This provoked laughter from Robin, who eagerly took his hand and began to walk him towards the exit. 

"I'll catch you at the tour tomorrow, Frederick!" The darker haired man smiled and waved goodbye to Stahl's fading figure and quickly made his way to the cafeteria, only to find Chrom talking it up with some girl who was probably a few years too old for him. 

The blue-haired teenager met eyes with his friend and sweetly bid the girl goodbye. Apparently, being Chrom's former caretaker had its perks after all.

"Fred! How was it?" Frederick quickly recounted the interview to Chrom. 

"Whoa, Stahl was here? That kid's a dumb genius if I've ever seen one. He could probably eat a bag of chips in a minute and calculate the total amount of fat consumed in half of that time. And he has a girlfriend? Man, she must be crazy in love with him or something."

"I imagine she is..." Frederick said, not exactly paying attention.

"We gotta get you a girl, Freddy. Don't worry, me and Vaike will cover for you!"

Frederick flinched a turned a little red. "I-I'm sure that won't be necessary, Chrom. I... I will find someone on my own accord." Once again, his thoughts drifted towards the image of Stahl and Robin walking off together, fingers intertwined and smiles all around. 

"It might take some time, though." 

 


	3. The Barracks

Chrom and Frederick parted ways after they had a quick lunch at Chrom's house. Frederick bid goodbye to Chrom and his siblings and proceeded down the gravel path that his friend's house stood on the side of. With nothing to do until tomorrow's college tour, the brown-haired man made his way to his own home, not too far down the path. His eyes followed a couple ambling down the other side of the road, engrossed in a conversation he could only imagine about.

Again, he remembered Stahl and Robin. He shook his head furiously.  _You are going to college to study, Frederick: not to find a woman to spend your life with. Haven't you learned from certain people that flirting gets you nothing?_

"Frederick!" A voice pierced his troubled thoughts and pulled his wandering mind back into reality.

"Ah... hello, Cordelia." 

Cordelia's long, red hair waved in the light summer wind, nearly reaching her waist. She wore a solid white dress and sandals to compliment them. Frederick couldn't deny that she looked pretty today, but he had never quite seen her in a romantic sense. Whether it was her rigid pride or the rumors of her unrequited love for a certain blue-haired friend, Frederick simply had no feelings of love for the young lady standing before him.

"You look sleepy, Frederick. Where'd you come from?"

Frederick chuckled. "I just came back from a university interview. I hope I don't look too exhausted, though. Such an outlook tends to rub off on others."

"No, you look alright." A few cars passed by and ruffled her dress before she spoke again. "You up for some iced tea at The Barracks? I was on my way just now to meet a friend, but you look like you could use it."

The Barracks was a local coffee shop in their small town, Ylisse. It was the only place like it in the area, so The Barracks was a popular place for young and old adults alike. 

Taken aback by Cordelia's rare kindness, Frederick agreed and smiled. "That would be nice, Cordelia, thank you." 

\--

Whoever Frederick was anticipating he would see at The Barracks, it certainly wasn't her. 

The tiny bell next to the door gave its telltale ring, allowing for a girl with grayish-brown hair to enter and shyly wave to Cordelia as she made her way to the table at which Frederick sat. 

Suddenly, Frederick noticed about a dozen things wrong about himself. Had he ironed the shirt he was wearing right now? Why did his hair have to be so messy all of the time? Should he run his hand through it just to be sure? No, that would probably make it worse, and he couldn't check now. What about his hands? They must be so sweaty or something––

"Frederick, this is Sumia. She's a childhood friend of mine, and she's going to college just like you!" A name was called from the counter and Cordelia excused herself. "I'll get our drinks." 

The moment Cordelia left, Frederick's mind began to bombard itself with questions once more. Had he thought he would be seeing the most beautiful girl in the whole world today? No. Did he think the most beautiful girl in the world even existed until now? No. Should he stop staring at nothing and start talking to her before the situation got any more awkward? Yes.

"Ahem. Sumia, right? Where are you going for college?"

"I'm going to Greystone, you?" Good gods, she had the nicest voice, too.

Frederick attempted a jovial laugh which he was convinced sounded more like an awkward choke. "Really? What a coincidence! I'm attending there as well." 

"Oh, that means you'll be at the college tomorrow! Maybe we'll see each other there?" Sumia's gray eyes closed for a moment as she smiled at the nearly-blushing man across from her.

"Y-Yes, maybe?" Frederick's foot tapped on the clean floor of the coffee shop. His eyes darted to her half-opened bag which revealed a rather hefty book. "Do you read a lot?" 

Sumia smiled shyly. "Yes... that's the Ribald Tales of the Faith War. It's actually quite good!" She seemed intent on carrying on the college conversation, because she asked, "What's your major at Greystone?"

"Pyrotechnics. Fire interests me..." _That sounds embarrassing, what was I thinking when I said that? She must think I'm an arsonist in my free time-_

Instead, Sumia giggled. "How interesting! I'm studying animal behavior, a lot of people tell me I have a way with creatures..."

Frederick smiled, more relaxed. "Animals are nice, although I have some reservations concerning bears and the like..." He and Sumia continued their conversation. 

After what seemed to be an eternity, Cordelia arrived back at their table and set some drinks down. "This is on me, you two! Working here gives me some perks." 

"Oh, you work here, Cordelia? How nice! That reminds me, how did your exams go last week?..." The conversations between Sumia and her childhood friend were lost in Frederick's scrambling mind, the iced tea from Cordelia seemed colder than usual. 

\--

"...Oh gosh, it looks like I have to get home soon." Frederick said in dismay. "Cordelia, Sumia, it was a pleasure to meet you today.'

Cordelia waved nonchalantly and continued reading the back cover of Ribald Tales of the Faith War. Sumia smiled softly. She shook his hand and bid him goodbye. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Frederick! I hope that we see each other at Greystone."

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At long last, Frederick meets Sumia... I named the coffee shop they went to The Barracks be the place they meet because conversations always happen there in the actual game. This isn't exactly my best writing... I'll try better next time.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments is much appreciated! Disclaimer: characters belong to owners.


End file.
